Both Sides Of The Sky

Reviewed: 2018-03-18
Genre: General
FCCs: none
Review: another stellar (mostly) collection of outtakes, unreleased tunes, collaborations, and out of print tunes by the master. The majority of these tunes have been heard before, and sometimes better versions, but as any Hendrix aficionado knows, he always came up with something new on each take. That said, there are some real gems here. You’ll need to check the booklet included to see the line-up on each track.
If You Like: Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughn
Track Review (favorites denoted by *):
81/ Mannish Boy (5:01) – full band intro> funky uptempo take on Muddy Waters chestnut> guitar solo> song> quick stop
2/ Lover Man (3:04) – “Rock Me Baby” with new lyrics> guitar starts> fast tempo jam & song> guitar solo> song> long crescendo end
*3/ Hear My Train A’ Comin (7:26) – vocal starts> heavy metal slow blues> smoking guitar solo takes off into the stratosphere, then goes slow & funky> slow blues song> heavy guitar solo slows into song> crescendo end
4/ Stepping Stone (3:15) – drums start> lightning fast song on the frustrations of love> sizzling guitar solo> song> guitar solo to fade
*5/ $20 Fine (5:01) – guitar starts> uptempo song with Stephen Stills on vocal> guitar solo> virtuosic guitar solo> uptempo song> guitar solo> song> guitar solo to end
6/ Power of Soul (6:56) – interesting studio version> guitar starts> midtempo funky song interspersed with tasty guitar licks> quick stop
7/ Jungle (3:29) – guitar starts> slow instrumental duet with drums morph=s into midtempo & fades
*8/ Things That I Used To Do (3:42) – guitar starts> midtempo blues> smoking guitar duet with Johnny Winter on slide> uptempo blues> crescendo end
a guitar solo> funky sax solo> song> crescendo end
9/ Georgia Blues (7:57) – gutbucket guitar starts> wailing midtempo blues song with Lonnie Youngblood on vocals> hellbent guitar solo> sax solo> song> crescendo end
10/ Sweet Angel (3:56) – guitar starts> lovely midtempo instrumental take on a song> fade
11/ Woodstock (5:20) – organ starts> Stephen Stills sings uptempo song & does organ solo> song> Hendrix does a bass solo> organ solo> jam> to fade (wonderful take, but I want to hear Jimi on guitar)
12/ Send My Love To Linda (4:38) – Spanish guitar arpeggio starts> slow song still sounds like a demo> soaring guitar solo to fade
*13/ Cherokee Mist (7:01) – drums start> electric sitar kicks in> slow spacey instrumental duet with drums> long slow fade> false stop> slow jam> false stop> spacy slow fade